Well. The car has got a new MOT but I still have pipes to replace.
The airbag came on but I said it was probably the connectors below the seats. When I got back, cleared the codes and disconnected the under seat connectors a few times and code didn’t reappear. Is there a more permanent fix for this issue? The connectors are NOT clipped to where they should be and it leaves me wondering if hitting speed bumps causes them to tap against the seat lever and then disturb the connection. Would cable-tying the halves together help?
I spotted a fair few pipes that are rusted and need to be replaced so I have decided it would be best to drop the rear subframe.
One issue I still have is the dogbone keeps in clipping! I’ve put a cable tie lightly snugged up to it for now. It doesn’t look split. Perhaps it is worn internally. I’d doubt the metal ball it connects to is worn as opposed to the plastic.
I am going to replace a few pipes on Thursday otherwise the car will be broken down at the side of the road before now have no sprung a leak or two.
Jay’s tool does a nice little job of forming the flare. This was a test flare using the position marked on the die. In the end, I moved the pipe past the mark to get a wider flare at 5mm. However, the marked V position gives about 4.25mm diameter which is sufficient to get enough purchase from the nut and draw the pipe into the union.
More photos to follow when I do another pipe on Thursday.
Finding the low pressure return pipe leak was a palaver. Disconnected the 5270R6 return pipe, that comes from the doseur, at the reservoir. Clamped off before the doseur and the pipe to the ABS and then pressurised the pipe.
I could clearly hear a hissing in the vicinity of the coolant preheater. Cut the pipe and then tested the cut pipe. It was pressure sound!!!! So I had just cut a perfectly original return pipe so had to make that good. Can only surmise that my mate was not clamping the other end very tightly and the pressurised air was going through the doseur and back through the hard plastic 5270Y4 pipe!
Made the rubber return good with about 7/32” copper. Needed to clamp the new clips fairly tight to seal it.
Used 6mm rubber fuel hose SAE J30R6 spec for bridging the gap created by the piece of hard thermoplastic pipe I had cut out.
REPAIRS
You can see where this had very probably touched the coolant preheater and melted.
I have a video, some may recall, of the coolant preheater smoking last year. Interestingly, the first video I took of it was the same day as the car failed its MOT last year except it was later in the day that I took it so the issue wasn’t picked up because it didn’t happen prior to the test the second video I took was one day before the retest.
So the pipe had become damaged but I imagine the LHM leak was so slow that it didn’t have time to fill the recess on the bulkhead and then overflow the lip and down the bulkhead! WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?
Here are some photos of some of the pipes requiring attention.
I think I will do the worst. I’ll probably really go at them with 120 sandpaper and see what gives and do those. I’ll leave anything that doesn’t give until I can drop the rear subframe.
